International Biomed Delegations Seek Cooperation with Israel

The world is beating a path to Israel, literally, in a rush to partner with Israeli tech companies in a variety of life science fields.

By Arutz 7 Staff

First Publish: 6/13/2013, 4:07 PM

Tobias Zobel

Yoni Kempinski

The world is beating a path to Israel, literally, in a rush to partner with Israeli tech companies in a variety of life science fields. Over a dozen foreign delegations visited the 2013 BioMed show that took place in Tel Aviv this week, sponsored by IATA, an organization that promotes Israel's high-tech industry.

Among the delegations was one from Germany, representing several dozen companies large and small seeking to partner with Israeli life science companies. Among the visitors to the show was Tobias Zobel, CEO of ZIMT, the Central Institute of Healthcare Engineering at Germany's Friedrich Alexander University (FAU). “We are looking for ways to cooperate on research projects and facilities,” Zobel told Arutz Sheva. “We are visiting universities here in Israel and looking for synergies to connect with.”

This is the first time a German delegation was visiting the biomed show, now in its 13th year. Zobel said that the German delegation was impress by the level of technology in Israel. “We of course are looking for technologies we can use for ourselves, but we believe we can be very helpful to Israel as well.”

Also visiting was a delegation from Italy, which included officers of some large companies that were looking to buy or invest in Israeli life science companies, said Marina Scognamiglio, Trade Commissioner of the Italian Trade Commission in Israel. According to Scognamiglio, there were some very positive benefits for Israeli companies who worked with Italian ones, and vice versa. “If they work together companies can have access to the Israeli, Italian, and European markets. In addition, the Israeli and Italian governments are both contributing to a fund that will provide between 2 and 3 million euros to startups in this field.”

According to Nir Malah, a trade analyst with the Italian Trade Commission in Israel, “the market in Israel is very vibrant. All the Italian companies in the life sciences field know Israel's capabilities in the field, and they came to Israel to see and learn the market and to have a relationship with Israeli companies. In my opinion, they can learn a lot from Israel in this area.”